Total Experience Design
For good experience design to work it has to infuse every element of the business. The website, being the primary UI platform, has to be usable, friendly, easy, fast and fun. The importance of this shouldn’t be overlooked. People are busy, we don’t have time to learn new complicated systems all the time. Convenience is king!
But what other points of interaction does the consumer have with a business? When making a sale, either online, over the phone or in person – the service should be exceptional in every way. Too difficult? Why should it be? Aftersales is just as important, if not more important than the actual sales process itself. Reminder and confirmation emails must be smart, personal and inviting. If someone ever rings up or emails customer service the response should be as rapid as possible and personal. Especially with a company starting out small, this shouldn’t be difficult. In fact, it should be mantra.
What quality is the quality of your product, and your products packaging? How quick is the delivery time? Is your customer excited when they receive your product in the mail?
Consider vitually any Apple product. The experience of going into the Apple store, browsing the alluring array of technology on open display, talking with intelligent, enthusastic sales staff, making the transaction (and burning that massive hole in your wallet), walking out of the shop with a lovely Apple bag that draws attention from other shoppers, getting home and slowly unboxing the product is as much an experience in itself as the product is. It’s part of the reason Apple get to charge 10x more than the competition, and yet why people remain loyal to them.
Experiences that market themselves
Graze (graze.com) is a great example of a business model built around the user experience. Personally, I believe the procuct they sale is very much overpriced. But so are Apple products, fast cars, Bang & Olufson speakers and anything with ‘Louis Vuitton‘ on it.
But the Graze site is fantastically usable and fluid, so much so that it’s a pleasure. Messages are personalised. You have the option to completely configure what food items you love, like, don’t mind trying and never want to receive. You get a lovely email the day before your box is due to arrive. The box itself is of a high quality, is relatively eco-friendly and sports the Graze branding. The packaging inside is well done. The food sent is fresh and tasty. They also supply a napkin!
Within every box you get a nice card informing you exactly what’s in your selection and 3 vouchers to give to people for a free trial. You also get £1 off a box for each person you recommend, or you can donate it to some rainforest charity (yay!).
A case study business model. Graze has done almost no advertising whatsoever. Almost every single new customer has been by word-of-mouth marketing because of a remarkable product, a fantastic user experience and a great incentive to spread the word.
The consumers voice
One bad experience, just one pissed off customer that just so happens (or maybe not) to be a blogger or socialite with reach can potentially turn hundreds of people away from your business. On the web every consumer is a producer. Everyone has a megaphone.
Thus it’s essential to remain consistantly great. Listen to what your consumers have to say. Emails should be received and responded to. If a customer has had a bad experience and tries to contact you about it – don’t ignore them. Reply immediately, apologise and offer them a refund or future discount or whatever seems relevant. Doing so may have just turned an angry customer into a happy one that goes and tells others about your generosity.
Don’t shrug
If that all seems to difficult, you may as well throw the towl in now. Because there’s a 100 other companies, freelancers and individuals, charities and organisations that are more than happy to give it a go. And sure as hell if they do right by it you’ll be out of the rat race.
Something to think about, I guess.
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Media Contour said:
Great insight! While convenience and high quality design are always surefire ways to improve a user’s experience on a website or in a store, one thing that separates Apple and Graze are their uniqueness and innovation! Even with a well-designed site that loads quickly, looks pretty, and is easily navigable, you may not get the level of traffic and/or sales that you desire if what you are providing is the same as the products/services offered by 100 other companies. Offering fresh, new services, options, and extras that your competitors don’t offer can greatly increase the satisfaction of the consumer.
gas safety london said:
Excellent insight!.. great post and thanks.
Amelie Rencontres said:
The website’s appearance is very important for the business. You are right for all the things you say. In our century the web design is developing fastly, so from the web site you can earn your customers with one great web design.
Nicolewelsh said:
I agree.. it was long time since I saw any site as aesthetic as graze’s. Website and the first impressions do make a difference but it matters a lot, what kind of aftertaste you leave.
shin said:
I agree totally about the Graze website being a joy to use.
Anyone have any idea which company designed the site? I couldn’t see it anywhere on the site. Cheers in advance
Business for Sale Liverpool said:
Cheers for the post, I have to agree with you on all points including the quality of the Graze website too. One unhappy customer can turn off far more business than many happy customers can turn on, look after the troublesome ones and protect your reputation.
Cheers, Bob
Air Conditioning said:
That photo looks very similar to the new Leicester Apple store, but I’m guessing that they all have similar layouts to create the ‘Apple experience’.
Mesothelioma Attorneys California said:
the design is very good.and the consumer voice is really essential for the designer.thanks for the excellent topic.
cortney said:
the functionality and quality of any deliverable whether it be a website or the end product, i agree is extremely important. Sometimes businesses forget this somewhere along the chain, but the customer NEVER will.
Anna Green said:
Iv founds this very informative. I was one of the many who
opened up an account started to follow a few peeps and then got bord. I think that i will give the whole thing a second chance, and see how i do. Thanks for sharing